Directed by Halina Reijn from a screenplay by Sarah DeLappe based on a story by Kristen Roupenian (of “Cat Person” fame), Bodies Bodies Bodies never holds back from what it wants to say, but unlike other satirical movies, it never lets its commentary overtake the story, instead deftly weaving it into a narrative that builds its mystery over the course of the film.
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Bodies Bodies Bodies finds Sophie (Amandla Stenberg) heading out to a get-together with some old friends. Coming with her is her new girlfriend, Bee (Maria Bakalova of Borat: Subsequent Moviefilm and the upcoming Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3). Bee is the odd one out in the group of Sophie’s young, accomplished, upper-class pals. These include the put-upon David (Pete Davidson), enthusiastic podcaster Alice (Shiva Baby’s Rachel Sennott) and her tag-along Tinder date Greg (Lee Pace), emotional actress Emma (Chase Sui Wonders), and skeptical and hard-edged Jordan (Myha’la Herrold).
The friends plan to ride out a hurricane in David’s parents’ mansion with plenty of loud music, dancing, glowsticks, and a healthy (or unhealthy) amount of alcohol and drugs. Sophie suggests the gang play the titular game, a sort of whodunnit party game in which one person is the “murderer” and once someone is “killed” the rest must determine who the killer is. Of course, things become far too real too fast, and the friends are stuck in a giant house with no power, no cell reception, a storm raging outside, and a dead body on the porch.
One of the most refreshing parts of Bodies Bodies Bodies is how it takes more inspiration from Agatha Christie than something like Halloween or Scream. Despite its pitch-perfect slasher setup, the movie plays out more like a classical murder mystery, complete with a massive estate and a dwindling cast of characters. Accusations are hurled, and uneasy trust is built between people who would otherwise completely ignore one another. There’s even a missing friend who is often mentioned but never seen by the other characters. Is the mysterious Max the killer, or is he just a red herring?
Reijn’s direction smartly mirrors the course of events, with steady camerawork and bright light accentuating the early hours of the get-together, before playing with suffocating darkness and more handheld shots to build on the confusion and terror felt by the characters as the night goes on. With the power out in the house, there is a lot of opportunity for creative lighting from glowsticks, emergency lights, and in one instance, a light-therapy mask.
Though it has plenty of visual heft, the real strength of Bodies Bodies Bodies is in its characters and their relationships to each other, all of which are clearly defined from their first scene. Despite the mostly friendly nature of everyone at the house (save for the confrontational and aggressive Jordan), there are obvious cracks in this friend group that are slowly teased out over the course of the film, with small exchanges and conversations hinting at their edges. As the outsider, Bee bears the brunt of awkward social interactions, forced to play nice with people who don’t really understand why she’s there. This social tension is then put to the test once blood starts being shed over the course of the night.
Bodies Bodies Bodies manages to blend its horror elements with comedy much more easily than other movies do. Much of the funniest moments are found in the characters utilizing what might be referred to as typical millennial speak, the kind of language that attempts to turn real emotional issues into Tweet-ready buzzwords (the term “gaslighting” is called out early on by David, though in the context of the scene, he is borderline gaslighting the entire friend group). Some of this dialogue can come across a little too obvious in DeLappe’s script, reading more like commentary than actual conversations between characters, but the dialogue remains sharp and biting throughout. This is especially true in how the friends choose to cut each other down with increasingly personal attacks that betray their seemingly progressive attitudes toward social class, addiction, and mental health.
At its core, though, Bodies Bodies Bodies is a movie about friendships, and how tenuous they can sometimes be. It builds its entire plot on the idea that sometimes people are only friends with someone because they’re already friends with them. It’s a bit of a confusing chicken-egg idea, but the movie makes it clear that the characters have only remained friends because at some point they found each other tolerable enough to spend time with. Then there’s Greg and Bee, the two outsiders whose personalities perfectly contrast each other. Greg is outgoing and youthful, despite the clear age difference between him and everyone else there, while Bee is more shy and reserved, doing her best to avoid confrontation. Neither approach prevents them from being accused of murder.
Bodies Bodies Bodies is the kind of horror-comedy that only comes around every once in a while. It’s a nearly pitch-perfect blend of the two genres, with many of the funniest moments being used to contrast an act of violence or to break the tension of wandering through darkened hallways. Bodies Bodies Bodies is definitely more funny than scary, but it smartly utilizes the elements of horror to great effect. The movie’s plot and theme are also both equally represented. It never sacrifices its clockwork story beats in favor of its satirical commentary, nor does it let its themes of modern friendship and dishonesty fall by the wayside to move the plot forward. It’s a great, biting look at millennial culture through the lens of a slasher mystery, one that even those outside that generation can connect with.
Bodies Bodies Bodies is now playing in theaters.
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